Counterfeit
by BlueEyes444
Summary: It's the night before her wedding and Tonks is facing more than pre-marriage bridal nerves. She's facing a fight for her life. Written for "Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks: A Friendship Untold."


**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Summary: It's the night before her wedding and Tonks is facing more than pre-marriage bridal nerves. She's facing a fight for her life. Written for "Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks: A Friendship Untold."**

**A/N: Thanks a ton to my beta, Miles333.**

**Pairing: Hint of Remus/Tonks**

**Also, for the Writing Quotes on HPFC: **

Prompts: "But you know, we all get some scars along the way."

And "Look up."

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She fights the nausea that rolls over her, her ever-changing eyes closed tightly as pain continues its way over her.

She's pretty sure she's on Sirius's old bed, which in other circumstances she would be refusing, but she's in too much pain to care.

She feels his warm hands patting her down, searching for her injuries, and she feels reassurance from his touch. They've always been there for each other and now it's nothing different.

It's familiar, one searching the other's for injury, and she smiles slightly, though the movement causes her pain; her smile turns into a pained grimace.

His hands reach her stomach. The pain hits her even stronger. It's worse than before. She feels warm blood continuing to seep from the gash across her chest. She can hardly breathe. She groans and darkness threatens to pull her in.

"You with me, darling?" His voice is low and if she didn't know him as well as she does, she wouldn't have heard the worry and fear in his voice. She must be worse than she thought.

"'M 'ere, Dragon." Each word is hard to form, but she manages because she has to make sure he knows she's fine.

Darkness again claws at her mind and she's tempted to follow it. But all her years of Auror training overpowers the temptation, and she realizes that she must stay awake.

"Dora? Come on, open your eyes." His voice is a deadly sort of calm and for some reason that scares her more than anything. She knows she should open her eyes, but they're so heavy and they're still burning from that _Conjunctivitus Curse_, and she can still feel the blood seeping from her lids. Is it just her or did it suddenly go cold?

Oh, Merlin. Where is that string of pearls her mum gave her? She has to have them by tomorrow….her something borrowed.

She shivers suddenly, thoughts about pearls gone, and then realizes that she doesn't feel his hands anymore. She's instantly worried, but in her confused mental state, she doesn't know why.

She lets a pained moan, and she tries to move, her stomach and eyes hurting even more, but she's too worried about him to notice most of it. Because what if that fifthly cannibalistic Death Eater has his hands on him?

"Hey, hey. Relax." Hands, holding her down. Different. Yet familiar. But not his.

She tries to pull away, because the hands aren't his or Lupin's, and she has a thing for not liking other people touching her.

"'Arlie?" she murmurs, trying to pry her eyes open enough to find them. But, oh, Merlin. It _hurts_. "'emus?"

"Everything's fine…" the voice soothes but it's not smoothing to her because she doesn't know who it is and it isn't _them_.

She twists and turns and tries to escape, but the hands hold her down. She can't make out the words but she hears the voice yell, and it makes her head hurt, but it's nothing to her eyes and stomach.

Then there he is and his voice is soothing. Sh finds herself stopping the struggles, because he really is safe…but where is Remus?

As if knowing what she needs to ask, he clamps a hand tightly over her own. "He'll be here, Dora, as soon as possible." Then his voice goes into a sort murmur and she can't understand the words, but she's comforted.

The darkness beckons her again. If she is more coherent, she would know she shouldn't go in, but suddenly, she finds herself drifting into it.

If she had been more coherent she would have noticed that she didn't feel any of the pain anymore, but she doesn't.

Then, she knows no more.

xxx

She looks so pale…. lifeless. And that kills him.

Blankets are tucked up around her, her hair shiny with sweat. He casually notes that her hair is black…her normal shade for once.

He doesn't know how long he lays by her on the bed, praying to anyone who'll listen that she'll pull through, and he continues holding her hand and wishing that Lupin is there for her as well.

Bill comes and their mum and Andromeda too and so many Order members he loses counts, but he never leaves her side. She's his best friend and he's promised Remus he'll look after her, and where was he anyway?

It feels like forever since she lost consciousness, but the last time Bill came in, he said it was only four hours.

He is restless and edgy and he can't sit still…but he's never been good at waiting, especially concerning someone he cares for.

Waiting.

All he can do now is wait.

xxx

_She falls and the breath is knocked from her. For a moment she's too stunned to notice he is standing over her. Where was her backup? _

Her eyes fly open and she's left staring at the ceiling, fragments of a forgotten memory (dream? nightmare?) clinging to her mind. What…?

She's confused and she can't seem to remember…oh, Merlin. Charlie. Her eyes widen and she forgets to breathe. _No_. He was out with George and…

That's when her eyes catch sight of the tousled red hair and limp form beside her.

"Dragon?" Her voice is soft and cracks slightly. She's not loud in the slightest, but he startles just the same and in seconds, he's on the floor, landing with a thud. Her gray eyes wide, she rolls to the side and pears down, and instantly wishes she hadn't.

The movement causes pain to shot through her abdomen. She closes her eyes and tries not to moan.

"Breathe through it." She feels his hand resting upon hers, and his words were gentle.

It takes her several agonizingly long minutes to be able to pry her eyes open, and when she does, she's staring into his terribly concerned eyes.

"You with me, darling?" he asks, his voice low and throbbing with concern. Just because he's one of the most important people in the world to her, she won't hex him for calling her that annoying nickname. What is with people and calling her nicknames anyway? She nods slowly and he pulls himself up and climbs onto the bed beside her.

She lies back against the pillows and finds herself soothed by the faint scent of her late cousin. Merlin. She misses him.

"What happened?" she asks, voice still rough as she pulls up the covers once again. Her throat is killing her, and judging by that fact alone, it's probably from the fact that Grayback tried to strangle her.

He gives her concerned look before shrugging. "You were ambushed by Grayback." He pauses. "Audrey White, an American witch…new Order member saved you." She instantly feels gratitude for the woman, knowing that Grayback would have killed her if Audrey hadn't come.

He frowns and he looks away. "You had me worried," he admits, and she grabs his hand like the way they did when they were kids and still did today.

"'S not your fault, Dragon," she says, pulling him gently with her hand, wincing at the pain. He faces her and his eyes are a mixture of guilt and concern. "And before you say something like 'but it is' or 'but, Dora, it is my fault,'…it is not. Understand, Charlie? Not your fault." She pauses, struggling to keep breathing through a stab of pain. He squeezes her hand in silence and that's all she needs.

After a moment of getting her breath back, she looks at him and smiles. "One thing, I'm pretty sure you're not clear on, Dragon, is that my name is Tonks. Not 'darling'." Of all the nicknames she's been given, that one annoys her the most.

He seems to brighten a little. He is never one to talk about anything as girly as _feelings_, and gives her that trademark roguish grin of his that says _I do it because I like to annoy you_. If she weren't in such pain, she would hit him on the back of the head, a thing she did quite often. But that was Charlie for you, always hiding everything behind a smile. Merlin. Good thing she knows the boy so well.

She's broken out of her thoughts by him answering, "Can't I have a special nickname for you?"

She huffs under her breath, but still holds onto his hand tightly, not bothering to answer that because she knows he's got her, and she knows that he knows that she knows.

It is always like that between them. Like she knows that he knows that she knows that he knows….Merlin. They're never that confusing.

"Where's Remus?" The question has been pressing on her mind for a while now, but she just now found the strength to voice her concern.

He shifts. "He went to Hogwarts…Dumbledore left him a couple matters to take care of…" She sits straight up, eyes flashing, her hair turning red, ignoring the pain in her stomach.

"What?"

He gives her a half-smile. "Don't worry. Dad and three other Order members are with him. He'll be back." She stares at him for a long moment before flopping back n the bad, hair changing once again to black. Thank Merlin she isn't feeling up to arguing.

Which reminds him…without moving too much he unclasps the blue and silver dragon necklace that hangs around his neck. Moving his arms slightly, he puts it around her neck and clasps the ends together again.

"I know it's not all blue, but I think it counts, don't you think?" He expects her to respond with something of a witty comeback and not at all to burst into tears.

But she does, and in an instant she's against his chest and tears are making their way down her face and splashing against his skin. With no idea why she was crying, he continues to hold her.

They sit there for a time, neither of them knows how long, until the tears finally stop and she's composing herself.

"Sorry," she says, sniffling, still hugging her arms around his stomach. "I think it just dawned on me that I'm getting married." He says nothing; knowing that she needs to talk it out…whatever is bothering her.

"And you know what, Dragon? I don't think I can," she admits, voice catching again. "Lupin's my life, and I can't think of it without him in it, but I don't think I can do this with a war going on."

Wait for it.

"And what if…" She didn't have to finish. She didn't have to.

"You're afraid to let him find out about it?" He suggests, referring to something that happened in her early days as an Auror. Only he knew and he is sure she hadn't even told her mum about it. She nods ever so slowly, and he shakes his head, patting the top of her hair with a hand.

He thinks for a moment, then says something his mum told him when he came back from Romania one time, two months into the job, wondering if maybe he should quit. "Life's hard, no doubt about it, but most of the time, it's pretty easy though. And you know, we all get some scars along the way." He pauses, frowns. "Wait…I don't think that's exactly what my mum told me, but I'm sure it gets the point across."

She chokes out a laugh before wincing, and he beams. He knows how to cheer her up.

"Darling, look up," he says, serious again. She glances up, without moving her position much, her gray eyes rimmed with redness.

"You plus Lupin equals love," he tells her simply, and knows she'll work out the unspoken words herself in a moment.

Silence stretches between them and he waits.

Then, "Thanks, Dragon."

He grins again, patting her on the back of the head again. "No problem, darling. Now, why don't you rest and then before you know it, your husband to be will be here and you can get married."

She replies by relaxing more and sighing.

What in…?

"You make a good pillow," she says, voice muffled because of his shirt.

Oh.

He smiles.

That's what he was hoping she would do.

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